Edward Burns

I was a kid who went to film school and fell into acting.

I'd been offered TV series over the years and never had any interest in doing television. I'm not a TV guy.

The con movie is a little bit different where maybe we tell you what we're going to do but it never goes down the way you expect because there's so much double-crossing and cheats and lies going on along the whole way.

But the longer I'm in the business, you see a lot of times these screenplays have been rewritten 5 times and you're not really offending an author.

Actors are con men and con men are actors.

Woody Allen would go for seven years without a movie and then make one that makes no money.

It is a juggling act and I have been in it for 12 years now, which is about 11 years longer than I thought I would be, and then the priority there is thinking how can I stay somewhat irrelevant so that you can continue to survive and can continue to work and put yourself in a position to get to do the work you are truly passionate about.

People that went to art house theatre have more options, I used to go, but now think any movie can be delivered in a red envelope three months after it's released so why not watch it on my flat screen in the comfort of home.

I am a big fan of the old Howard Hawks films from the 30s and 40s, I was a big Hepburn and Tracey fan for a while and Woody Allen films that are a very different kind of romantic comedy.

Quite honestly, it's too tough to get your movies made and then also to get out there and sell them.

But at a certain point, you have to take your influence and find your own voice if you want to become a relevant artist.

Maybe I should have taken a few chances. That's not to say I want to go make 'Star Wars', but I need to shift my career into the studio world. That's where my head was at when I thought of the original plot.

That's my advice for indie filmmakers: Marry a supermodel.

The way I see it, when I go out as an actor, it should be on a type of film I'm never going to do as a director.

Well, honestly, the films I personally like to go see are smaller, more character-driven pieces, so that's why the movies I've made have been smaller, more character-driven movies.

It's so hard to raise money for independent films and the fact of the matter is that the bigger my star or whatever is, as a result of doing bigger pictures, the easier it is for me to get money for my own projects.

Well, for one thing, you know my dad was a cop.

Newlyweds shooting budget: 5k for actors, 2k insurance, 2k food and drink. 9k in the can. We only shot 12 days. That's how to make an independent film.

I suffer from Irish-Catholic guilt. Guilt is a good reality check. It keeps that 'do what makes you happy' thing in check.

'Brothers McMullen' would not be picked up for theatrical distribution now.

I feel Irish-Americans are the forgotten minority group. Nobody else is making films about them.

When you work with a DeNiro or Hoffman, they love what they do so much that there's never any competitive vibe. It's more about how do we do this thing together.

When I was 25 years old and had no money - and didn't know how to make movies and had no experience - I was able to get $25,000 together, and that film was 'The Brothers McMullen.'

I'm betting that in two years I'll be talking to you about a film that I shot on an iPhone. It's absolutely coming, I have no doubt in my mind.

So you got the cool New Yorkers, and then there are the less-than-cool New Yorkers.